Transportation authorities are moving toward cashless tolls for many reasons. They reduce congestion and lower costs in different areas. While this is convenient in the areas that offer the service, unpredictable billing, and an inability to budget the cost of a rental car can be a disservice to the customer. In the last few weeks, Finance has noticed this trend for many of our Enterprise/National reservations. Areas offering an option to avoid stopping to pay tolls with a human, allows you to conveniently breeze through the toll booth and have your charges registered through an electronic device, most commonly called EZ-Pass or Fast-Pass. It sounds like a wonderful idea until the bill is generated and the toll you expected is higher due to administrative costs not disclosed in a transparent manner. The minimal $12.00 in toll charges now includes an additional $19.75 plus various other taxes and fees.
The Enterprise Group of rental car companies, which includes Enterprise, Alamo and National, also charge fees of $3.95 per day, capped at $19.75. However, customers only incur a fee on days in which they pass through an electronic toll booth.
There is no way to control this since the charges vary, depending on the area you are traveling in. These costs are direct billed to OU if you’re renting your vehicle using our preferred vendor Enterprise/National. Keep in mind when accepting your rental contract that the fine print usually contains language relating to toll charges in the area you rent from. Consider your options and select the best route for your departmental budget and the university. If you are traveling in an area and making multiple passes through the cashless toll booth, stopping to pay the toll and avoiding the fee might be the better option.
For information related to the Enterprise/National toll program see below. Please make sure you familiarize yourself with this information in preparation for your upcoming rentals.
https://www.enterprise.com/en/help/faqs/car-rental-toll-pass.html